This invention relates to structures used in the assembly of furniture, toys, picture frames, and the like, and, more particularly, to a turnbuckle construction employing modular elements.
Turnings of wood, metal, plastic, or the like are both decorative and structural members and are used in the construction of furniture, toys, and the like. In the past, these complex curved surfaces were formed, as a unit, on a lathe or by casting or molding. This made for little flexibility in design selection or size. A manufacturer of furniture, or the home hobbyist, for that matter, had to either manufacture his own turnings or purchase the designs that were commercially available. In many instances, one had to "made do" with the pre-manufactured lengths and designs.
Segmented turnings--turnings in small sections which might be secured to one another to form larger units--have been available commercially. These turnings provide little satisfactory structural support. They are joined together by dowels which may be threaded or smooth. The doweled turning units are then secured to one another, for example, by an adhesive. This is an obviously time consuming and laborious task. Were such members to be joined by, for example, threading, it is believed that the joined sections could not conveniently form a closed unit. Securing elements by rotation in the same direction would loosen one side while tightening another. Forming a three dimensional object of segmented turnings under the prior art is, therefore, a laborious, time consuming, and intricate task of measurement, fitting, and securing.
Prior art suggestions have not provided any improvement.
Stonier et al., in U.S. Pat. No. 3,437,059, suggests a decorative pole made of a plurality of turnings which are threaded together in the same direction by means of a flexible connector. Such connectors are all threaded in the identical direction. The flexibility of the connectors prevents a strong interconnection. While a room divider, as disclosed, can be formed by having the connectors all threaded in the identical direction, a rigid, three dimensional structural member cannot, as indicated above, be easily made. Thus, the device disclosed by Stonier et al. would be unsuitable for use as a structural member for furniture or the like, particularly where it is desired to have a strong interconnection between the parts to have the capability of providing both support and the appearance of a unitary turning of a complicated design.
Reed, in U.S. Pat. No. 3,864,051, discloses the use of a connecting device for joining hollow tubing to a hexahedron block. However, the joining member, as taught by Reed, grasps a hollow tube immediately adjacent to the block. Thus, it would not be possible, under the teaching of the patent by Reed, to bring together a plurality of sections, such as decorative turnings, to make a complex assembly.
Morris, in U.S. Pat. No. 1,257,097, discloses a turnbuckle to join furniture sections. In the Morris device, oppositely threaded screws project from brackets in each furniture cabinet. An appropriately threaded sleeve engages both screws so that turning the sleeve in one direction draws the joined cabinets together. The sleeve is a unit and cannot be used to form a plurality of turning segments. Thus, its usefulness as a means for constructing furniture is narrowly limited.